Hercules (United States, 1997)

A movie review by James Berardinelli

Let me start by saying that Hercules, Walt Disney Pictures' 35th animated feature, makes
for good family entertainment. Good, not great. While this film is capable of
providing a ninety minute diversion for both kids and adults, it's a far cry from such recent classics
as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. A mere five years ago, Disney was developing
top-notch animated movies on a regular basis. Now, in 1997, the studio's efforts have become dull
and routine. Complacency has set in. No one is pushing Disney and revenue is up -- where's the
incentive to stop the assembly-line animated feature production and get back to creative movie
making? Hercules has the dubious distinction of being the least-enchanting cartoon
Disney has fashioned in over a decade.

Students of mythology may be irritated by the changes made to the legend of Hercules. Many of
these are understandable, given the studio's espousal of family values. After all, how much light-
hearted fun can you have telling the tale of the bastard son of a god and mortal who grew up to kill
his wife and children? So, instead, Disney has made Hercules the divine offspring of a couple that
represents Olympian marital bliss: Zeus and Hera. Unfortunately, Hades, who is preparing a
"hostile takeover bid" of the big mountain, has it on good authority that Hercules is the only one
who can foul up his plans. So, using his inept assistants Panic and Pain, he has Hercules turned
into a human. When Dad and Mom learn about this, they realize that their son, who is no longer
immortal, cannot live on Olympus, and they allow him to be raised by Greek foster parents.

The majority of the film centers on the adult Hercules performing all sorts of grueling tasks to
clean up the ancient city of Thebes ("the Big Olive" -- if you can make it there, you can make it
anywhere) and establish his status as a hero. His mentor is a satyr named Phil, who fills the role of
the irascible-but-lovable sidekick. Meanwhile, Hades is out to get Zeus' son, throwing all sorts of
obstacles in his path -- hydras, giant boulders, and a Mae West-type damsel in distress named
Megara.

Hercules comes close to being a remake of the The Little Mermaid with a male
hero. One could easily argue that all Disney animated films are similar (for example, the hero is
always a loner who proves herself/himself through some deed of self-sacrifice), but
Hercules is a little too blatant in its cannibalization of past themes and plot points.
Besides that, this film has a distractingly episodic feel. Instead of coming together as a cohesive
story, it's like a bunch of thinly-related events strung one-by-one to reach a ninety-minute running
time.

The most disappointing aspect of Hercules is the amateurish quality of the artwork. The
"excuse" for this is that the animators at Disney were trying a new, angular style (one that is
attributed to production designer Gerald Scarfe). In fact, this approach makes the film look rushed
and, at times, incomplete. It is never a visual marvel -- even the computer-generated scenes fail to
impress. The sequences intended to offer the biggest spectacle -- Olympus and the Underworld --
provoke little more than a yawn.

With Hercules, composer Alan Menken is scoring his sixth animated Disney feature. His
work on three (Mermaid, Beauty, and Aladdin) has been noteworthy. It has been
adequate on another (Pocahontas). However, the songs for last year's Hunchback of Notre Dame
were generic and lifeless, and there's little sign of improvement here. The fact that Menken tries a
different style for this music (the Greek Chorus is a gospel soul group) doesn't change its inherent
banality. Simply put, this is a boring soundtrack.

On the other hand, Hercules' vocal characterizations are uniformly good. Joshua Keaton
and Tate Donovan team up effectively as the title character. Susan Egan (who played Beauty
and the Beast's Belle on stage) is suitably sassy as Meg. Danny DeVito is a riot as Phil, as
are Bobcat Goldthwait and Matt Frewer as Pain and Panic. Rip Torn makes for a nicely
authoritative Zeus. Cameos include the likes of Amanda Plummer (one of the Fates), Paul Shaffer
(Hermes), Hal Holbrook (Hercules' foster father), and Charlton Heston (the narrator). But the real
star of the show is James Woods, whose Hades is the most vibrant Disney creation since Robin
Williams' Genie. Hades is a lively villain with a great repertoire of one-liners. And, although
Woods isn't as much of a vocal chameleon as Williams, he's close enough that it hardly matters.

Hercules is saturated with cultural references -- points should be awarded for anyone who
spots them all. There are nods to MacDonald's (over 5,000,001 served), "chariot chasers", I
Love Lucy ("Zeusy, I'm home!"), Siskel and Ebert ("two thumbs way, way up for our leading
lady"), and other pop phenomena. Most amusing of all, however, is the way Hercules
willingly lampoons its own reputation, taking several jabs at the inevitable merchandising
whirlwind that surrounds its release.

So, although Hercules is undoubtedly one of the summer's most lightly enjoyable motion
pictures, I couldn't shake the feeling that it could have been and done more. Those on the lookout
for another Disney masterpiece won't uncover it here. However, anyone with the modest goal of
finding a screen solution to the problem of a family outing need not worry: Disney's 35th animated
motion picture fills the prescription.